J. B. M. Hertzog

Infobox Prime Minister
name = James Barry Munnik Hertzog


width = 200px
office = Prime Minister of South Africa
term_start = 30 June 1924
term_end = 5 September 1939
predecessor = Jan Christiaan Smuts
successor = Jan Christiaan Smuts
birth_date = birth date|1866|4|3|df=y
birth_place = Wellington, Cape Colony
death_date = death date and age |1942|11|21|1866|4|3|df=y
death_place = Pretoria, Transvaal
party = National Party
United Party

James Barry Munnik Hertzog, better known as JBM Hertzog (born 3 April 1866 near Wellington, Cape Colony - died 21 November 1942 in Pretoria, Union of South Africa) was a general on the Boer side during the second Anglo-Boer War and the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa first from 1920 to 1921 and then from 1924 to 1939. Throughout his life he encouraged the development of the Afrikaner culture, determined to protect the Afrikaner from British influence. In 2007 a building was built in Paarl and named after him to honor his legacy. [ [http://www.paarlpost.com/cgib/article?newsid=10658 Die storie van James Barry Munnik ] at www.paarlpost.com]

General Hertzog

Hertzog first studied law at Victoria College in Stellenbosch, Cape Colony. In 1889 he went to the Netherlands to read law at the University of Amsterdam, where he prepared a dissertation on the strength of which he received his doctorate in law on 12 November 1892. [cite book
last = Hertzog
first = J.B.M.
authorlink = James Barry Munnik Hertzog
title = De 'income'-bond, zijn rechtskarakter en de waarde zijner economische en juridische beginselen
publisher = Universiteit van Amsterdam
location = Amsterdam
year = 1892
pages =
doi =
isbn = ] [cite book
last =
first =
authorlink =
title = Album academicum van het Athenaeum Illustre en van de Universiteit van Amsterdam
publisher = R.W.P. de Vries
location = Amsterdam
year = 1913
pages = 173
doi =
isbn = ]

He had a law practice in Pretoria from 1892 until 1895, when he was appointed to the Orange Free State High Court. During the Boer War of 1899-1902 he rose to the rank of general, becoming the assistant chief commandant of the military forces of the Orange Free State. Despite some military reverses, he gained renown as a daring and resourceful leader of the guerilla forces continuing to fight the British. Eventually, convinced of the futility of further bloodshed, he signed the May 1902 Treaty of Vereeniging.

Politician

With the country now at peace, Hertzog plunged into politics as the chief organizer of the Orangia Unie Party. In 1907, the Orange River Colony gained self-government and Hertzog joined the cabinet as Attorney-General and Director of Education. His insistence that Dutch as well as English be taught in the schools met bitter opposition. He was appointed Minister of Justice in the new nation formed on 31 May 1910 called the Union of South Africa. He continued in office until 1912. His antagonism to imperialism and to Premier Botha led to a ministerial crisis. In 1913 he led a secession of the Old Boer and anti-imperialist section from the South African party.

At the outbreak of the South African rebellion in 1914, he kept aloof, not opposing either side. In the years following the war, he headed the opposition to the government of General Smuts.

Prime Minister

In the general election of 1924, his National Party defeated the South African Party of Jan Smuts and became the government. In 1934, the National Party and the South African Party merged to form the United Party.

Hertzog was a republican who believed strongly in promoting the independence of the Union of South Africa from the British Empire. His government approved the Statute of Westminster in 1931, and in 1937 after King Edward VIII abdicated as King of the United Kingdom (and thus King of South Africa), Hertzog insisted the South African parliament "approve" this decision in a vote. On 4 September 1939, the United Party caucus refused to accept Hertzog's stance of neutrality in World War II and deposed him in favor of Smuts.

Notes